What is Chiropractic Care and Can it Reduce Back Pain?

The term chiropractic is formed from two Greek words ‘cheir’ (hands) and ‘praxis’ (practice). Thus, It is, as the name implies, hands-on therapy to cure your musculoskeletal problems. Chiropractic manipulation is the application of pressure on a stressful area of your body by top chiropractors in Denver. The application of pressure also enables a chiropractor to adjust and realign the spine.

What is the basic principle that chiropractic cure follows?

Chiropractic treatments focus mainly on spinal manipulation and alignment to help reduce pain in the patient’s body. Chiropractors also work on boosting a patient’s body's self-healing process and muscle recovery rate. Spinal realignment is supposed to reduce pressure on the central nervous system. Common issues that can be treated by a chiropractor include headaches and lower back pain.

Your initial appointment will most likely be an examination of your issue, just like at another doctor’s clinic. The chiropractor will ask you to describe your symptoms, and they may perform various testing including X-rays to better understand your condition.

After that, you and your chiropractor will draft a suitable treatment plan. This plan may include regular visits at the chiropractic care center, dietary restrictions, and various exercises.

Is chiropractic treatment just about spinal realignment?

The modern chiropractic model is oriented towards spinal care. Chiropractic manipulation, on the other hand, has originally relied less on most scientific notions.

Initially, chiropractor adjustment used to assume that a misaligned spinal cord may lead to certain musculoskeletal diseases. Most chiropractors believed that diseases originated in the central nervous system. Thus, they believed that chiropractic manipulation would address any such musculoskeletal disorders and eventually cure pain.

However, skeptics and scientists of those days considered this notion to be scientifically unsound. The principle of curing diseases with drugs and vaccines was disregarded by early chiropractors. They opposed the use of drugs for treatment. Thus, being unconventional as it was, chiropractic was considered untrustworthy by the scientific community. Since then, chiropractic theory has evolved massively and is becoming popular as a therapy for musculoskeletal pain.

Can chiropractic treatment cure your lower back pain?

If you’re over 30 years of age, you're not alone in having visited a doctor for back discomfort. Nonetheless, despite its widespread prevalence, the actual cause of pain is usually unknown. Even to this day, there is no single best treatment for most low back pain issues in medical science. Doctors devise treatment methods depending on the patient’s requirements and severity of the issue. That is why treatment for lower back pain varies everywhere. Rest, stretching and exercise, heat, pain medications, and time are included in a ‘standard treatment’ that most physicians provide. Some doctors might also refer your case to a chiropractor. 

What does the research say about back pain and chiropractic care?

A 2018 study published in JAMA Network Open is often cited to weigh in on the benefits and drawbacks of chiropractic care for treating lower back pain. The researchers studied 750 active-duty military personnel who experienced back discomfort. Half of the participants were randomly assigned to standard treatment plans (including medications, self-care, and physical therapy), while the other half received standard treatment along with 12 chiropractic treatments.

When the research ended, the patients who were assigned to chiropractic care:

• reported lesser pain intensity, less impairment, and more improvement in functionality.

• Expressed satisfaction with their therapy, and required lesser quantities of drugs and medication

• While no major side effects were reported among those patients, approximately 10% of those who received chiropractic care reported unfavorable symptoms (like mostly stiffness in the joints or muscles). On the other hand, just 5% of individuals receiving standard care complained about such symptoms.

You might now wonder if consulting seeking chiropractic adjustment in Denver for your lower back pain is the right thing or not. The only person who can answer such queries is a professional chiropractor. They are rational medical experts who understand human anatomy well. Post examining your lower pain and identifying its root causes, they will draft a treatment plan. If chiropractic treatment is not necessary, they’ll refer you to another suitable medical practitioner.